"Mind's Eye"
by Salamae

The paladin sits in a large wing back chair, a fire blazing before her with the flames reflecting in her eyes. Her mind drifts back over the events of the last years, and a small tear rolls down her cheek. So many things start in such an innocent way -- the apparition, the desire only to help him find peace. A small group of people went to find the ancient mage, their only clues a name and a story of a man that no one was even sure ever existed. The paladin wipes the tear from her cheek and in her mind's eye sees once again a life returned to the paladin called Ghregor, a quest undertaken and an oath of silence given. Never did she think that all this would one day play a part in ending an evil so great as that called Sorrow.

Ghregor, gone again; death's cold hand reached out for him, and in an instant a friend, a brother, was swept from their lives. But the events that his short second chance at life put into motion, those things have changed many lives. Through him, because of him, they met the mage, a powerful man whose effect on them and many others could not have been dreamed of when they first met. He would come in and out of their lives over the next year or more, information given and the oath re-sworn each time they spoke.

The paladin glances at a sash lying on the table, the symbol of her commission. A low sigh escapes her lips. The war, so much loss. She had run the gauntlet as a personal test of her own fitness for battle. Never did she think she would be awarded the commission. Nor did she truly understand at the time the cost that would come with it. Every night she made her pilgrimage to the shrine of Chadatru, and every night she offered the rose she had picked, and she remembered. The lives lost, the honor shown by the people, the young men and women who would never go home again. The battles had gone on for what seemed like forever, as did meetings with the mage to find an answer, a way to end the evil that had lived for centuries. The way was found and another drawn into the secret, this one a man close to the evil, one he would trust. That trust would bring a betrayal, one equal to that which Sorrow himself had done to this man.

In the end the evil was destroyed, beyond even the reach of Sidhlot's powers. And then when for just a moment the calm seemed to return to the land, then the cry is heard, "The True Prince Lives!" The woman shakes her head in silent frustration as once again she is drawn back into the memory of the anger, the words of treason spoken among the people. "Who is the rightful prince, who has betrayed us?" whispered in corners, shouted in the streets.

The execution. The paladin rubs her wrists, the feeling of the cold steel of the manacles still vivid in her mind. She spoke out, she had asked for proof of crimes and for justice, but justice tempered by mercy. She knew as the words fell from her lips that what she was doing, speaking out against the actions taken by a rightful heir to the throne, would end with her in a jail cell, and still she spoke them. The punishment was fair and hers to bear, and not for a moment did she regret speaking her heart. The dishonor she brought to her guild, though, that pain would live in her heart forever.

And now the letter. The woman pulls a crumpled letter from her pouch. Her jaw tenses as she reads once again the proof that she had asked for. Prince Vorclaf's father was dead, and from this letter the Prince has given her, it appears Sirolarn as well as others had brought this senseless death about. The pain in Vorclaf's eyes bore into her soul as he handed her the letter, saying to her, "Here is the proof you asked for."

So begins a new mission for her and all who seek Justice: Find the others involved in this death. Give the man and the Gods that we serve peace in knowing we will seek it until it is found. Find the truth wherever it may lie, and give the lands the answers they seek as well.

Putting the letter safely back into her pouch, Salamae stands and slowly begins to don her armor. As she steps out the door in search of others to help with this quest, the tears have dried, and in their place is resolve, a resolve to move forward, never knowing what the next sunrise may bring.

Author's OOC Note: I wrote this in hopes of showing that anyone can find RP and be a part of events, that even the smallest thing when followed through to the end can bring to anyone a glorious adventure.